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Masters 42 Programs

Master of Education

Bring your artistic skills to the classroom. Teach PreK-8 or 5-12 students how to think and learn through the creative process. Continue to develop your own work while discovering the latest in classroom practices, research, and art education.

Transform your love of the arts into a career in a nonprofit, hospital, museum, school, or other institution. In this dynamic program, you gain the tools to effect change in the community through art—and become a better artist at the same time.

Prepare to nurture the social, emotional, and intellectual development of PreK-2 children. Explore teaching methods that will help you inspire in your students a lifelong love of learning. Gain rich experience and prepare for a rewarding career.

This one-year residency in a Somerville school prepares you to teach in early childhood classrooms with diverse language learners. Courses are offered at the school site and on Lesley's Cambridge campus.

Play a vital role in helping grade 1–6 students become critical thinkers who will thrive in an era of change. Explore ways to support children with varied abilities, and emerge from your studies with the skills you need to succeed as a teacher.

Explore current educational practices, curriculum theory and development, and equity in education. Get a firm foundation in curriculum and instruction; content areas such as arts, science, mathematics, technology; and ELL, math, and literacy.

Help students in grades 1–6 become critical thinkers who will thrive in an era of change. Learn how to teach children who do not speak English as a first language. Emerge from your studies with the skills you need to succeed as a teacher.

Expand your content knowledge while gaining strategies for engaging students and preparing them for college and careers. Choose from English, history, math, biology, chemistry, earth and space science, physics, or social sciences, and become a highly effective licensed educator.

Design an advanced degree based on your professional and personal goals. With this on-campus version of our Individually Designed program, you can pursue a specialization or choose a variety of courses from across the university, and take a combination of face-to-face and online courses.

Create arts-infused curriculum to strengthen student learning. Gain a foundation in the newest research on arts-informed teaching approaches. And prepare to use the arts to engage students with diverse learning styles and needs.

Deepen your understanding of literacy, and learn innovative ways to incorporate reading and writing to help all students communicate effectively. Coursework includes topics like content literacy, literature, assessment, struggling learners, and more.

Make a real difference in students’ lives by turning your passion for literacy into career as a school or district reading specialist. In this highly-regarded program, you’ll gain expertise you can apply to a variety of settings and roles.

This interactive program allows those responsible for elementary or middle school science to expand their knowledge of content, assessment, and classroom strategies. Take courses in STEM, earth and space science, mechanics, chemistry, and more.

Design a master’s program in special education tailored to your unique professional goals. Centered on a chosen concentration area, this non-licensure program is for those who already have or do not need a special education license.

Be a teacher who can effectively teach students with moderate learning disabilities in both special education and inclusive classrooms. Study instruction, current issues and laws, and how to provide all students with full access to learning.

This dual-license master’s program prepares you to work with students with both moderate and severe disabilities in school, clinical, and other settings. Fulfill your goal of being a dedicated special education teacher.

Fulfill your goal of being a dedicated special education teacher. This dual-license master’s program prepares you to work with PreK–8 students with a range of moderate and severe disabilities in school, clinical, and other settings.

Become a teacher who can educate students with moderate learning disabilities. Prepare to teach in special education and inclusive classrooms. Study instruction, current issues and laws, and how to provide all students with full access to learning.

Prepare to educate and encourage students with severe disabilities. Make a meaningful difference for those with complex learning needs by providing access to curriculum, behavior support, skills development, and quality of life options.

Master of Arts

Develop the understanding, social justice perspective, and clinical expertise needed to become a creative and effective mental health counselor. Gain eligibility for your counseling license by completing a total of 1,300 hours of field experience.

Promote healing through drawing, painting, sculpting, and other media. Learn theoretical and practical approaches to help people gain self-awareness and understanding. Become engaged with individuals, families, and communities to foster well-being.

Learn to use dance and movement to enhance communication and relationships and foster mental and physical wellness in clients. As a dance/movement therapist and mental health counselor, explore how dance can yield fresh insights and facilitate the healing process.

Facilitate change through improvisation and performance. As a licensed mental health counselor, use experiential techniques to help others become spontaneous and flexible in their relationships. Practice in schools, clinics, and community centers.

Learn from pioneers in the field as you train to become a licensed mental health counselor, whose practice integrates multiple areas of expression, including art, dance/movement, drama, and music. Choose from our on-campus or low-residency options.

Starting from the basis of the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—learn a multidimensional approach to counseling that addresses people’s mental, physical, and emotional needs. Complete 1,300 field-training hours, qualifying you for licensure.

Engage others in music making as a means to wellness. Use musical performance to instill confidence and collaboration. Prepare for careers in diverse settings, including at-risk youth, underserved communities, and clinical and educational centers.

Train to excel as a counselor in diverse primary and secondary school environments. Learn to work with children and collaborate with a wide range of individuals, including parents, teachers, administrators, and community members.

Guide those in pain toward health and healing. With 1,300 hours of specialized field training, you’ll develop the mental health counseling expertise needed to address traumatic experiences, especially in the case of young and vulnerable populations.

Build a foundation in scientific theory and research while gaining the practical knowledge to guide people toward transformation. Master skills that enable you to work under supervision or continue on to doctoral study.

Work in school settings with children and adolescents, as well as their families, to help them reach academic and personal goals. In this 48-credit program, become eligible for licensure as a Massachusetts school counselor for grades PreK-8 or 5–12.

Discover how to collaborate with diverse populations and promote communication, mutual respect, and understanding across educational and professional settings. Graduate connected to Lesley University’s global network of professionals and educators and prepared for employment in dynamic settings in the U.S. and abroad.

Deepen your practice of mindfulness and bring its benefits into your professional and personal life. Gain an understanding of the mind-body connection, and discover the science behind contemplative practices. Prepare to help others live more fully.

Master of Fine Arts

Our MFA in Creative Writing nurtures and challenges your creative potential in one of six genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Graphic Novels and Comics, Writing for Stage and Screen, or Writing for Young People.

Immerse in an intimate community of artist/scholars that is redefining photography. Study full-time in Cambridge, MA, and explore traditional and alternative photographic practices, new technology, and contemporary media through one holistic curriculum.

Pursue an MFA that’s rigorous yet individually tailored for the 21st century artist. The interdisciplinary focus of the program allows you to craft a course of study that integrates creative work into your daily life.

Master of Science

Lesley’s online Master of Science in Management program is designed for business professionals looking to hone their skills in leadership, problem-solving, analysis, and more. The curriculum focuses on the latest management approaches and combines theory with real-world case studies that you can apply directly in the workplace. In this program, you’ll complete coursework that’s relevant to today’s diverse workforce. You can also choose to specialize your studies and gain competencies that will put you on the path to continued career success.

Play a key role in helping students become critical 21st century thinkers. Designed for career changers and others who do not need a master’s degree, this license-only program is a perfect way to prepare for teaching without taking a full program.

Gain valuable skills and credentials for teaching English language learners (ELLs). This license-only program gives you new career opportunities and the ability to help students make significant strides.

Gain valuable skills and credentials for teaching English language learners (ELLs). This license-only program gives you new career opportunities and the ability to help students make significant strides.

A program for career changers and others who would like a high school teaching license but do not require a Master's degree. Expand your content knowledge while gaining strategies for engaging students and preparing them for college and careers.

Learn the fundamentals of adolescent development, designing appropriate curriculum and learning environments, and classroom management strategies. Turn your area of expertise into a rewarding career working with middle school students.

Positively impact students’ lives as a school or district reading specialist. If you have a master’s degree and an appropriate teaching license, you can get your reading specialist license and move your initial license to the professional level.

Learn to teach students with moderate learning disabilities in both special education and inclusive classrooms. If you have an appropriate classroom license and don’t need a master’s degree, this license-only program may be right for you.

Prepare to teach and inspire students with moderate learning disabilities in PreK–8 special education and inclusive classrooms. If you have an appropriate classroom license and don’t need a master’s degree, this license-only program is for you.

Make a difference in the lives of students with complex learning needs by providing behavior support, skill development, and access to education. If you have an appropriate initial license and don’t need a master’s degree, this program is for you.

PhDs 6 Programs

PhD

Blending online study with weekend on-campus classes, our PhD program for mental health professionals and school counselors prepares you to bring transformative leadership and applied research to mental health programs, schools, and higher education.

Become a leader who can develop forward-thinking approaches for the improvement of K-12 student learning. Designed for working professionals, this PhD program is for both traditional school leaders and other educators who want to facilitate change.

Transform individuals and communities through creativity, scholarship, and collaboration. Enhance your practice and become a leader in expressive therapies through this low residency doctoral program, which interweaves artistic expression and inquiry with a focus on research

In this low-residency PhD program, you'll develop a deep understanding of social, psychological, and biological conditions that affect the development of humans over the lifespan, and prepare you to better serve individuals of all ages in a variety of academic, social, and governmental contexts.

Design a doctoral program tailored to your professional goals. You’ll have a great deal of flexibility as you structure interdisciplinary study that fits your career objectives and allows you to contribute significantly to your field of interest.

Prepare to take increased leadership responsibility in Jewish educational institutions and organizations. Offered in collaboration with Hebrew College, this program is appropriate for Jewish educators or professionals who aspire to be change agents.

Through our certificate program, discover how to integrate the healing power of creative expression into the care of patients in hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, and other settings. You’ll develop a range of skills that open new possibilities in healthcare, education, human services, social work, counseling, and more.

Prepare to support and advocate for children with ASD. Explore research and issues, challenges of the criminal justice system, transition to adulthood, and how to focus on individual strengths. Learn to be an ally for people with disabilities.

Learn how to establish helping relationships within your current working environment. In this 12-credit program, gain a foundation in human development and counseling, and then choose elective courses relevant to your professional interests.

Explore the principles and practices of art, dance/movement, drama, music therapy, and more. Discover how these disciplines, known as expressive therapies, can be integrated into clinical work and build on your current professional practice.

This graduate certificate program is designed for literacy coaches, teacher leaders, or administrators who want to gain expertise in literacy coaching, shared leadership, and developing a culture of professional learning within a school or across a district.

Expand skills in K-8 content literacy, teaching writing, literature, linguistics, and applying learning across diverse populations. Learn to use technology to support writers, and take an elective in either TESOL or culturally responsive teaching.

Learn to deliver complex mathematics content, and gain strategies to engage your students as they develop math skills. Study number theory, algebra, geometry, data analysis, calculus, and more, and choose an elective that further boosts your skills.

Join a community of students and faculty who will support and guide you toward integrating mindfulness principles into your profession. Our program is especially useful for health and wellness professionals, social workers, counselors, educators, and those who wish to develop a practice of mindfulness and to share these practices with students, clients, and colleagues.

This hands-on program focuses on how to deliver grades 1-8 science content for effective learning. Coursework includes physical science and STEM, along with electives in relevant areas such as mechanics, life science, robotics, engineering, and more.

Learn to support students with autism so they can reach their full potential. This certificate prepares you to teach in settings from PreK through transition to adulthood. Study aspects of autism from diagnosis to curriculum planning and advocacy.

Provide effective transition planning to special education students ages 14-22 as they prepare for work and further learning. Take this as a graduate certificate or, if you are a licensed special educators or other professional working with this group, as a state-approved endorsement.

Build your expertise in psychosocial trauma work and bring new knowledge to your current practice. This 12-credit graduate certificate program provides an overview of trauma theory and practice in relation to specific client populations and topics.

Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study Programs

Designed for professionals, this 36-credit certificate program will help you expand your current skill set, pursue leading-edge research, and enhance your understanding of counseling psychology theory and practice.

If you have an advanced degree in expressive arts therapy or a related field, and wish to gain in-depth training in the principles and practices of different modalities (art, dance, music, and psychodrama), this certificate program is for you.

Grow your literacy skills and qualify for a reading specialist license. Designed for PreK–12 educators with a master’s degree and teaching license, this program prepares you for higher-level positions in curriculum, staff training, or supervision.